Preparing for your presentation

There are so many ways a room and its set-up can affect yur presentation. It is so important to make sure it works for you – your position, the audience’s position, the equipment, the sound, the heating … Graham Jones used this great example in his tip : Check the room layout for presentations
I was at a meeting the other day when a woman was invited to speak. She stayed where she was in the room to deliver her five minute talk. However, this meant that some people in the room couldn’t see her; others couldn’t hear her. As a result, about half her audience had five minutes of their time wasted. She also wasted much of her time because she didn’t get her message across to half the room.

Where you sit, where you look and how the audience feels is dependent upon room layout. You need to seriously consider all the options before you talk. Get the room layout right and your presentation will be much better. What this means is you should never accept the room as it is – unless it is perfect for you and your audience. Almost every room needs changing in some way so that the audience gains the best from you.